The Legend of Zelda: A Link To The Past Review!

8/3/2024

I have an extremely spotty history with the Zelda series. Being mostly a child of the PlayStation consoles (did you figure that out already?), so it wasn't always something I had immediate access too. I've made attempts fill in some gaps, you may remember that my 2023 Game of the Year award went to Majora's Mask!

Every time I've started playing Link to the Past, I've fallen off quickly. I guess the timing was never right. While waiting around one morning, I started up a fresh save on the Switch Online's SNES service. This time, I was hooked and having a blast! This game surprised me in what was different about it, compared to the N64 duology and Minish Cap, the 2D Zelda I played last year.

All Killer, No Filler

That's the phrase that kept popping into my mind the entire time I was playing. After I collected the three pendants, I was shocked that there were seven more waiting for me in the Dark World! Compared to the 3D installments, and to an extent Minish Cap, Link to the Past feels like it's more weighted far heavier with dungeon gameplay. As far as I'm concerned, this is an excellent thing! Last year, I loved being neck deep in enemies, items, and secrets in places like the Water Temple or Snowhead Temple. To me, that's core Zelda gameplay, and there's an argument to be made that LttP simply has more of it. Not just by number of dungeons, but how quickly you can find yourself finishing one dungeon and starting another.

It's not like I dislike overworld scenes and sidequests in Zelda though, far from it. The 3D Zeldas are simply paced differently. Here though, LttP has shown me how well you can blend these two things and have the lines start to blur into one seamless fun game. In that regard, Minish Cap, was a master class as well, with the shrinking mechanic turning unexpected places into delightful, brain-teasing pseudo-dungeons. But nothing in LttP ever felt like I was being actively stopped in my tracks to do something unusual, or that I was at some kind of dead end. To put it another way, there was no "That Part" for me in this game, which is commendable! Both the Light and Dark worlds are fast to navigate, this invites detours and exploration. Many times I thought "Oh, maybe something is new at the Village." or "Didn't I get an item for this recently?. Those charming Zelda-like thoughts kept me engaged, and very frequently I was rewarded for my curiosity.

That smoothness of the adventure doesn't contrast with the sense of discovery and joy. Not knowing much about the game, I was giggling and "Oooooh"-ing as I came to understand Skull Woods, which has multiple entrances on the overworld and fun way to get to the boss room. This kind of design really impressed me. I entered Turtle Rock before I visited Misery Mire, and found myself tilting my head and how I could possibly proceed. There is apparently some non-linearity to the Dark World dungeons, but I couldn't quite figure that out here on my first playthrough. If I could pick up the Blue Tunic sooner, that would be helpful!

Your Uncle Recovered!

One of my favorite things about the N64 duology are their stories and strong theming. Ocarina tells the tale of a young boy who has his precious childhood stolen from him, thrust into responsibility as the world around him crumbles. Majora was heavy on atmosphere and emotion, and ultimately told a story of forgiveness and friendship. Both of those games are sincerely beautiful. In this regard, I have to say that Past is somewhat lacking.

This game does have a surprising share of dialogue and, by most standards, the lightest of cutscenes. Much of the game's writing is spent on the Maidens or other characters reminding Link what he is supposed to do, sometimes why, and encouraging him to be a brave hero. It's a little shallow, if there's an overarching emotional core or story, I may have missed it!

It would be very wrong of me to write off what is in the game, of course. Rather than focusing on Link, or any particular characters, the denizens of Hyrule share a spotlight together. Many of the folks out and about have some sort of story to them. Short and sweet as they may be, there sheer number of them is admirable for a game of this time that also has so much other stuff going on. I, for one, was delighted to turn a chicken into a girl with the Magic Powder. God, I wish that were me. Other highlights include the Flute Boy, the brothers whose house you blow a hole in with a bomb, and the guy sleeping under the bridge to Hyrule Castle. My single favorite scene would be your first trip into the Dark World.

Transformed into a pink rabbit (cute!), this is the only time the player is genuinely helpless to act, for now, at least. The little ball buddy explains that the Dark World will change your form based on what's in your heart and mind. He's a ball because he's always changing his mind, and he is stuck being kicked around by this charming little goblin character.

I find this to be a very poignant scene for how brief it can be. First off, this is some of the only insight we get into this Link's mind. He's usually a pretty quiet fellow with much left to the imagination, but it's little things like this in any Zelda game that tease the curious player. We also learn a lot about the Dark World transformation, the mechanics behind this seem very interesting, don't you think? Sadly, "what's in your heart" is not much of a theme in this game. I think that would have been a great angle to go with, but I do appreciate what is here considering the scope of the game. For something not named Dragon Quest or Final Fantasy, it's admirable work and thought, I just want even more!

Swordplay

One of the most exciting things in Zelda games is the sense of swordfighting. This is strongest felt in the 3D games, but it was a major component of Zelda 2 that echoes through the series. One of my only minor gripes with Past is swinging the sword around. It seems to hit only exact;y where Link throws it, basically a 90 degree angle at his side. This is perfectly fine most of the time, and you can reliably hit right in front of you, somewhat like Zelda 1. But sometimes enemies will approach you from that other side, or otherwise move in a way that is kind of slippery. They can move diagonally, but you still face in the cardinal directions. This is apparently the reason behind the creation of the Spin Attack! It's a great solution, but the spin attack takes some charge time. I found myself occasionally sat on top of an enemy, only to flail in the wrong direction and get hit again. It's not a big issue and merely a nitpick, but it is a thing to be aware of.

Some of the boss design I thought was a little hit on miss, but the game has a significant number of them, and I wouldn't say any were outright bad or unfun. With fairies and potions, you can get through anything in this game fo r sure, which is a great buffer to have for players of all skill levels. Mothula, in the Skull Woods (no relation to Mothra, the Godzilla monster?), has a surprisingly complex fight with a few things going on. The spike blocks will move, on the conveyor belt floor, while Mothula is free to fly around and shoot a spread projectile attack. I was surprised that something like this was only the third Dark World dungeon! This definitely tripped me up a bit.

Some bosses I think were not complex enough. There's almost nothing to the fight with Arrghus in the Swamp Palace, making it feel unsatisfying even though pulling his puffy cloud things is fun. Vitreous in Misery Mire has a similar issue. It seems like a boss that could have been early on in the Light World, with the only strategy needed is sword attacks and basic dodging skills. But this is number six in the Dark World!

Basically A Modern Game

For a game released in 1991 (in Japan, 92 in the States), there's an incredible amount of what I would call modern game design. I was rather flummoxed to discover that the Light World has a fast travel system. Of course, you also have the ability to save any time, though you will start at one of three hub locations in the Light World, or the Golden Temple in the Dark World. You can save and quit mid dungeon, but you'll have to head back there yourself. If you get a Game Over, you will start at the dungeon entrance, though. These are nice, friendly features!

If you're the type to get easily stuck, the Fortune Teller can give you a hint, so the need for external resources is greatly reduced. The Fortune Teller doesn't always give outstandingly clear directions, but I found myself using this feature a lot instead of heading to ZeldaDungeon.net or something like that. It helped keep me in the game world and playing.

I can only imagine what an absolute smash this whole game was when it was brand new. It's very forward thinking, easy to pick up and play, and jam packed with dungeons, items, and puzzles. When I looked over my full inventory at the end of the game, I felt a sense of pride and power! It hardly needs to be said that the spritework and music are top class for the Super Nintendo.

I sometimes joke, in praise of the original game, that we're still making Super Metroid, in reference of the entire Search Action genre. While the Zelda-like is a rarer occurrence as far as I know, it wouldn't surprise me at all to find out that we're still making games with Link to the Past's DNA somewhere in there. This is an absolutely stellar game, even within the high pedigree Zelda series.

Now, which Zelda game will I play next...?

And the Master Sword sleeps again...forever!

- James